Velvet Boxes and Midnight Crowds
by SubtleSoliloquy
Summary: Remembering is hard to do... No longer a one shot!
1. Prologue

_Ok , so I don't really know who's gonna be interested in this, but I added a few flashbacks and reworked it a bit, I changed it a bit in order to use it for a school assignment :) So anyway, enjoy! Also I was considering doing a longer story, about the backstory to this, and I was wondering who would be interested? Let me know in your reviews_

_Disclaimer: I own nothing, except some OC dvds... which are my god!_

It wasn't supposed to end like this. This past week, especially today, had been a challenge. She supposed that in the deep recesses of her mind she had locked away the fantasy that one day they would run away together, they would escape the constraints of the world surrounding them. Just like they had promised each other in their youth. Looking around, she absorbed the somber people in their midnight clothing. Each completing the outfit with uniform looks; looks of sadness and sympathy. Sympathy for her. Suddenly feeling the need to escape the sympathetic looks, she walked towards an empty space slightly away from the crowd. Away from watching eyes, she once again observed the crowd, her eyes constantly searching.

_They had met at a party arranged by her socialite grandparents, who were always eager for her to find "a nice, young man who will take care of you". Of course, this "nice, young man" also had to be from a decent family, which in her grandparents eyes of course meant old money and a socialite family. Their eyes had met across the crowded room, full of well-dressed men and glamorous women. She had been struck by the piercing blue of his eyes and by the way they seemed to penetrate through to her soul. It was an instant connection. He had soon sought her out in the crowd, his eyes never leaving hers. Recognising a similar discomfort in their setting in her eyes, he had held out his hand to her, before leading her out the door and away from the party. _

Finding his parents, she stopped to watch their movements, their emotions. His father was leaning heavily on his mother. Lost with grief, he wept for the loss of a son, an only child. Remembering the good times that had been held in his son's childhood, playing games in the backyard and teaching his son the rules of all the sports. As she turned to look at his mother, she found it quite strange that the wife was comforting the husband and not the other way around. His mother seemed to have not yet come to grips with the latest turn of events. Her movements were involuntary and her eyes were lost in thought. A parent is never meant to outlive a child; it did not seem to follow the natural course of events. As his mother caught her eye she became aware that she had been staring. His mother's blank eyes became filled with sympathy; so much like the others she had seen facing her that day.

_Their parents had naturally approved of them. At first. On paper they were the perfect couple. The ideal union of two powerful families. Upon the first meeting between the two sets of families, wedding details were immediately discussed. This frightened her. They had only been dating for 3 months and while they were an amazing three months, she still had things to do, places to see and dreams to seek before settling down. Sensing her fear, he had leaned over a grasped her hand, giving her a comforting smile and kiss to her temple. The two mothers had immediately cooed over the show of affection, before returning to their plans._

Thinking back to that memory brought a small smile to her face. At that point she thought he understood how important her dreams were to her. She had shared them with her and he had encouraged her to seek them. It's funny how clear things seem in retrospect. At that point, maybe she should have read between the lines, seen that he was encouraging her to seek her dreams, as long as he remained in her life, as long as he stayed by her side and was her priority.

As she saw her own mother approach her, she carefully composed herself. Compartmentalizing her thoughts, locking some of them away so they could be processed later.

"Sweetheart, you should eat something," her mother said to her softly.

"I will it's just…" she slowly trailed off. Giving a soft smile she gave an answer which she hoped would sate her mother, "I don't seem to have an appetite but I will eat when I get home."

Needing to be alone, she wanted nothing more than to finish this halted conversation with her mother. She could see the same sympathy radiating from her mother's eyes and it seemed to suffocate her.

"I just need to be alone, if you don't really mind Mum. I need….time," she stated slowly.

"Alright then sweetie, but remember call me if you need anything. Anything at all."

With that her mother gave her one last soft smile, with that suffocating sympathy still emanating from her, and retreated back into the midnight crowd. Watching as her mother's retreating back disappeared slowly; she inhaled deeply, finding a bench to sit on. She hadn't cried, she realised slowly. It wasn't that she hadn't cared for him; it was just that…god she didn't know why she hadn't cried. Maybe she was still in the stage of denial. Thinking back she remembered the last conversation they had. Or rather the last argument.

"_It's the opportunity of a lifetime, why can't you understand that?" she yelled at him._

"_I thought you were happy here, with your job and your family close by," he retaliated. Continuing more softly, he said, "I thought you were happy with me."_

"_I am happy with you! But this is just something I have to do. Don't you understand that?"_

"_I do, but I just…"_

"_You just what?"_

"_I just want you here, with me."_

"_I'll still be yours…"_

"_No you won't. We can't do this long distance relationship thing. You know that. It will never work. I'll miss you, you'll miss me and then we'll begin to doubt each other. What's a relationship without trust?"_

"_You don't trust me! I love you! You and only you!"_

"_Then why won't you stay with me?" _

"_I just can't." At that point she could no longer bear to look into his eyes. His beautiful blue eyes which she had always loved. There was just too much sadness there now. Sadness that she had caused. _

"_Then I can't", he replied, his tone sounding odd and unlike him. He sounded defeated. _

"_So you're just ending this, right here right now. You don't even want to try?"_

"_I just can't. This job in London is obviously very important to you, so just…go."_

_Suddenly angry at his inability to even try to maintain their relationship, to see her point of view, she decided to do exactly what he told her to. She left, grabbing her small suitcase and walking out of the life they had made after 3 amazing years together. Walking away from the love her life. _

Maybe if she had held her temper and reasoned with him, she wouldn't be in this situation now. Maybe if she'd seen the small velvet box he had been clenching in his pocket, she wouldn't have left. His mother had given her the box upon her arrival at this particular event. The ring now hung on her necklace. It didn't seem appropriate to wear it on her finger. Accompanying the small velvet box which his mother handed her was a letter. His mother had then given her the wise advice of telling her not to read it until she got home. Reaching into her pocket, she carefully fingered the small envelope. Making up her mind, she left the depressing occasion, choosing instead to read his letter.

Upon her arrival at her mother's house, she walked to her old room and closed the door, immensely curious about the contents of the letter. As she read it slowly, she began to cry. The tears which the midnight crowd had been expecting all day finally fell. Her hand became limp and the letter dropped to the floor. The noise resonated in the silence, the sound deafening in her ears. Curling up into a small ball on her bed, she pulled the chain from her neck, placed the ring onto her finger and wept.

_Dearest Mary,_

_I am so sorry for what I said that night. I have been a wreck without you and I would take it all back if I could. But I can't, and the things which conspired between us must forever remain that way. I suppose if you're reading this, it means I did it. I couldn't stay here, anywhere here. It hurt too much too stay. I'm sorry. I had to leave. Just know I love you with all my heart. _

_Love Always, and Goodbye,_

_Bible Boy_

_Btw, please don't get your hopes up about a prequel, I find it hard to find motivation to write sometimes... So please review and tell me what you think! Even if thought it was absolutely horrible, I wanna know! _


	2. Christmas in November

_So this has been, in the words of the Delays, "a long time coming". I will admit, I never though I'd venture into the world of fanfiction anymore, but the writing bug struck me so here I am! I don't know where I'm going with this, and if someone would like to beta me that would be awesome! Please review, I need all the encouragement I can get with this thing!_

_Now, on with the show!_

_Well that's an omen and a half. Went to submit this, and it tells me the site is down due to a technical glitch. Hilarious. _

_Disclaimer: Don't own anything, someone does and it's not me so don't sue!_

"I really don't want to go to this thing right now," stated Lorelai plainly. Dressed to the nines, it was once again time to go to one of Emily's dinner parties.

"I know," Rory replied, "but at least you're not going to be paraded around like a show pony."

"Hahahaha. True. But still… Rooooory, don't make me go!"

"I'm going, you're going, everyone's going. Let's just suck it up, get in, get out and then we can hire Willy Wonka, grab some junk food and totally veg out."

"…I suppose. Deal."

With those words, Rory was finally able to get her mother out of the house. She wasn't looking forward to it either, but four years surrounded by the society type at Yale had given her more resilience at these kinds of functions. With her hair curled to perfection and a little black dress on, she was far cry from the girl who had started at Chilton at the tender age of 16.

A short car ride later, one filled with deals from Lorelai and threats about rolling out of the car, they arrived to a house full of the typical society type. Greeting them at the door, Emily cheerfully called out "Merry Christmas," naturally followed by, "you're late" in a more dour tone.

"C'mon Mom, it was like 5 minutes," replied Lorelai.

"Try fifteen," was the inevitable comeback.

"Also, Mom, I hate to tell you this, but it's November. The month in which Christmas isn't."

"Are you saying I can't have a Christmas party in November if I so wish Lorelai? I'll have you know, that December is simply completely booked up! I had to schedule this early so that…"

"All right!" Rory quickly interjected. She knew that this had the potential to turn into an all out fight and she could think of maybe…one million things which she would rather be doing. "Do I smell apple pies Grandma? I think I do. The house looks lovely." Luckily, Rory's interruption did its job. "Why thank you Rory. I had Millie's designer come in to do the place this year. I am quite pleased. Also, you look lovely tonight Rory! I'm sure there are plenty of men inside who would love to catch your eye!"

"Of course Grandma, let's just go inside," said Rory politely. Lorelai snickered quietly while they handed their coats to the maid.

Having lost Lorelai at least twenty minutes ago into the crowd, Rory stood by the bar sipping a flute of champagne and admiring her surroundings. She had to admit, her Grandma had done well in making the place feel very festive, with holly and mistletoe draped artistically around the room and a string quartet in the corner softly playing through their repertoire of Christmas carols. The crowd themselves added to the atmosphere, with most of the women donning festive shades of red, gold or silver. As she scanned the crowd, she spotted her grandma, standing with her grandfather each partaking in different conversations. Her grandmother was absorbed in the latest society gossip with members of the DAR while her grandfather was with a group of men who looked to be in serious conversation. If Rory had to hazard a guess, she'd say it was probably about the insurance biz. Scanning the crowd for her mom, she suddenly felt like she was being watched.

Blue met blue across the room and Rory was struck by the instantaneous connection. He looked the same and yet different at the same time. He was still gorgeous, with his ruffled blonde hair and clear blue eyes, but she had always known that, even at Chilton when he persisted in annoying the hell out of her. He had grown into himself more, seemingly more comfortable in his skin, more at ease in the tux, which he adorned for the evening. As she watched, he offered her a smile of recognition, one that she found herself easily returning. Evidently taking that as his welcome, he strolled over to meet her.

"Rory Gilmore, or should I say Juliet," he said once he was close enough.

"Tristan Dugrey. Suddenly I'm not Mary anymore?" Rory couldn't resist bringing up the nickname, which had formerly been the bane of her existence. Tristan chuckled softly, "ahh, of course. Mary. How have you been?"

"Well you know. Finished high school. Went to college. Pulled a baby out of a burning building. Established world peace. The usual."

"The usual huh?" Tristan replied with a smile on his face. He couldn't believe his luck. Although he had dreaded the idea of being dragged to a society function, he had been pleased to learn it was to be hosted by the Gilmores. When he had walked through the door, he had hoped he might see her and get a chance to talk to her. He had been scanning the crowds, trying to deflect the attentions of Jessica, or Jennifer or something when he had spotted her by the bar, still beautiful enough to make him catch his breath. When she had caught his eye and returned his smile, he knew that this was an opportunity he could not let go to waste. Her tinkling laugh brought him back to the present.

"Yep, just the usual. You know us Gilmore girls, always ambitious," she said, with a mischievous smile on her face. Looking at her now. It was obvious that this was the same witty girl who had caught his attention back in the days of plaid. However, she had grown into a young woman, more self-assured than she had ever been in those days.

"What about you?" Rory queried, "How's life been for Mr Dugrey?"

"Charmed, naturally," he responded, with his trademark smirk. "No world peace, because apparently you have that covered. I went to military school, went to college and now am struggling my way through medical school."

"Medical school? I must say I'm impressed."

"If I'd known learning anatomy was the way to impress you, I would have told you I knew all the anatomy that mattered years ago," he said, cringing instantly internally. It seemed like a reflex that came with seeing her. Even through Tristan had put his playboy days to rest; somehow, she still brought it out in him. If this had blown his chance with her…

"Still the same as ever Dugrey," she said, however, she still had a warm smile on her face. Looking at him, she knew that he was scared that she was going to be insulted or disgusted. Rory knew she had changed a lot since Chilton. "Obviously, you're a little bit different yourself Mary. In a good way of course." Tristan said, obviously relieved. "Well Mary," he continued, "you look about like you're having as much fun here as I am, so what do you say we run away together?"

"Is that a line Dugrey?" responded Rory.

"Are you saying yes, Mary?" replied Tristan as he held out his hand for her. Rory hesitated for just a moment, before placing her hand in his and allowing him to pull her through the crowd at the party and out the door.


End file.
